GRACELAND: A place where grace rules and prodigals can call home.
On April 27 we will start a 4-week series called “GRACELAND”, A Place Where Grace Rules and Prodigals Can Call Home. As we focus on and dig into Luke 15, we are praying that this series impacts how you see others, how you see yourself, and how you reach out to the prodigals in your world.
Week 2: “Distant Country” – Luke 15:12-24
Jesus told 3 stories, back-to-back-to-back, all to make a point. People matter to God. All people. All the time. They matter so much that Jesus came to gather them to Himself. When something valuable is missing, God goes searching…and so should we.
This week, we look at the most famous part of this parable, and maybe the most famous of Jesus’ parables, as we focus on the prodigal son and critical moment of “when he came to his senses”, the critical moment of his return home, and how we can pray for prodigals.
LIVE OAK CONNECTION POINT:
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DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- What was a HIGH for you this past week? What was a LOW?
- What is something you are looking forward to?
READ: Luke 15:12-24.
Spend some time SOAPing this passage. You can either spend time SOAPing individually and documenting for a several minutes and then spend time sharing with each -OR- SOAP in real time with each other. Either way make as many observations as you can.
- Observations: What are the things that stand out to you about this passage?
- A parable is a story that is told to make a point. What point do you think Jesus was trying to make? Why?
- This part of the parable is often called “the prodigal son”. What is the definition of the word “prodigal”?
- What do you think motivated the younger son to demand his inheritance from his father?
- Why does the son want to leave home?
- The prodigal son expected to be a servant when he returned, but what was lavished on him instead?
- What do you believe about God’s reaction to your mistakes, failures, and times of rebellion? Do you draw near to Him or stay away until you can clean up your act?
- What stages does the boy go through? Label the stages the son goes through in this part of the parable?
- What causes him to come to his senses?
- The son was brought to repentance. How is true repentance different than regret or remorse?
- Doug talked about the “AHA” Moment of Repentance as: “Sudden Awakening + Brutally Honest + Immediate Action”. Repentance is a change head, heart & feet…thinking, belief, & action/direction. Which one is most difficult for you?
What do the following verses tell us about repentance?
Luke 5:32 Romans 2:4 2 Peter 3:9
- How could this parable change the way you seek out and pray for the prodigals in your life?
- Doug talked about how to pray for prodigals. Read each one and talk about how it could inform the way we pray: Lamentations 2:19 and Ephesians 1:18
- What else stood out from this week’s sermon?
- APPLICATION: What is your big takeaway from this week’s sermon? Be specific.
NEXT STEPS:
Everyone has a next step to apply what we have learned. What is your next step? Be specific.
MEMORY VERSE: *Challenge yourself or your group to commit this verse to memory:
Ephesians 1:18 “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people…”
PRAYER:
Spend some time praying for each other.
Scripture References:
Luke 15:1-11,12-24; Luke 5:32; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9; Lamentations 2:19; Ephesians 1:18
